The Metropolitan Museum of Art tricks visitors into paying for admission though a century-old law and lease specify free entry most days, a class action claims in state court.

The museum, in Central Park along Fifth Avenue, agreed to the no-fee policy in exchange for a perpetual, rent-free lease of the Beaux-Arts building from New York City, which also picks up the tab for maintenance, utilities and security, lead plaintiff Filip Saska says.

The deal was meant to provide access to great art for citizens “without regard to financial means,” according to the complaint in New York County Supreme Court.

But Saska claim the museum has been transformed “into an expensive, fee-for-viewing, elite tourist attraction, where only those of financial means can afford to enter this publicly subsidized institution situated on prime city-owned land.”